EUROPE. A group of more than 60 public and private travel and tourism organisations – collectively known as the European Tourism Manifesto (ETM) alliance – has unveiled a series of joint recommendations for EU Member States on how to relaunch travel and tourism in Europe in time for Summer 2021. They involve the development of an EU roadmap for restoring travel once countries emerge from national lockdowns.
The need for the roadmap towards relaxing travel restrictions has been emphasised today by ETM member Airports International Council (ACI) Europe, which has released statistics which reveal that in the first two weeks of February the decrease in passenger traffic at EU/EEA/Swiss/UK airports stood at -89% against 2020.
A dedicated EU Commission Task Force for the restoration of free movement of people is to lead the development and implementation of the roadmap, providing regular assessments based on risk and the latest scientific data.
The joint recommendations laid out by the ETM have been shared with EU governments ahead of two discussions. First, a videoconference of European leaders on 25-26 February and, on 1 March, an extraordinary meeting of tourism ministers from across the continent.
The recommendations call on the EU Commission-led task force to track the progress and impact of ongoing vaccination campaigns, as well as mitigation measures such as testing and quarantine, based on risk levels within the EU and internationally.
“The figures we are making public today lay bare the continued collapse in air traffic and air connectivity; they also point to a travel and tourism sector in agony” – ACI Europe Director General Olivier Jankovec
The authors of the recommendations stated: “Our goal is for Europe to return to its place as the leading tourist destination in the world – and a safe one. As EU vaccination programmes progress and protect the most vulnerable citizens, we must jointly prepare for the restart of travel. There is simply no time to lose – preparations on a common approach should begin now, in order to restore public confidence by the summer.
“Our recommendations detail a joint way forward towards restoring travel and tourism and freedom of movement on behalf of European citizens. We look forward to working with EU leaders to put this plan into action as soon as possible.”
ACI Europe’s latest traffic figures show that airports in the UK (-92%), Germany (-90%) and the Benelux (-90%) have reported the sharpest declines across the European market during the first two weeks of February.
On a more positive note, ACI Europe also revealed that airports in the rest of Europe (covering Albania, Armenia, Belarus, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Georgia, Israel, Kosovo, Northern Macedonia, Montenegro, Russia, Serbia and Turkey) have seen their passenger traffic show the beginnings of improvement, with a -60% hit in early January improving to –55% in the first two weeks of February.
Meanwhile, overall passenger volumes across the wider European airport network decreased from -70% last year to -83% as of mid-February, showing a clear downward trend, ACI Europe observed. It said that as of 14 February, Europe’s airports had already lost 182 million passengers since the start of the year, of which 157 million have been lost by EU/EEA/Swiss and UK airports.
Along with falling passenger traffic, ACI Europe also noted that February is seeing a continued decrease in air connectivity across Europe. The number of air routes lost within and from Europe further increased to 6,914 this month from 6,663 in January and 6,001 last November.
ACI Europe Director General Olivier Jankovec said: “The figures we are making public today lay bare the continued collapse in air traffic and air connectivity; they also point to a travel and tourism sector in agony. As the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccines is set to accelerate in the coming months, the EU and Governments across Europe must start planning for a progressive and coordinated restart of international travel in time for the Summer season.”
He added: “The UK is now working on this through its Global Travel Task Force with a target date set for 17 May. We are anxious to see the EU follow suit, starting with the set up of a dedicated Task Force for the Restoration of Free Movement of People, as just suggested by the travel and tourism sectors.
“This should include the establishment of vaccination and testing certificates for travel purposes, as championed by the Greek government. We are still very far from effective EU and wider international coordination – yet, this is an absolute must to save both lives and livelihoods.”
